Geopolitical scramble for the country’s vast mineral wealth By Kambale Musavuli* ACCRA, Ghana | 26 January 2025 (IDN) — Major General Peter Cirimwami, the military governor of North Kivu province, was shot near Kasengezi this past Thursday and later succumbed to his injuries. The incident occurred as he visited the frontline to assess the deteriorating […]
Trump’s Message from God for Africa
The writer is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 23 January 2025 (IDN) — It’s hard to argue when U.S. President Donald Trump says that God saved him to save America. Not only is a rational argument often suspended or lost when God […]
Peace With China Is Far More Important Than Power Over China
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 21 January 2025 (IDN) —The West, the US especially, has got itself into a fretful mood over the rise of China. Quite unnecessarily so. The Chinese growth rate is slowing. As a BBC commentator said recently, reviewing this week’s government-issued statistics, China never will hit double digit growth again. […]
Rabbinical Cease Fire in Gaza: A New Oslo?
By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA, USA | 18 January 2025 (IDN) — The Israelis are very good at two things: bombing the hell out of places all over the Middle East using American planes and bombs and writing complicated “peace” deals that wrap the Palestinians in a morass of words so that peace never comes. […]
Do Carbon Markets Foster New Scramble for African Land?
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 15 January 2025 (IDN) — A new study has slammed the growth of carbon offset markets for fuelling a fresh scramble for African land and “perpetuating colonial-era exploitation”. This instrument of emissions trading was introduced by the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 to confront the unrelenting challenge to limit global warming […]
Myanmar Four Years After the Coup
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK | 15 January 2025 (IDN) — Almost four years after the February 1, 2021 coup in Myanmar, the military junta’s widespread and systematic abuses against the population—including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and aerial bombardments of civilians—amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. For ordinary citizens, the human rights situation […]
Senegal, Chad and Ivory Coast Have Ordered French Troops to Leave
By Abayomi Azikiwe* DETROIT, USA | 12 January 2025 (IDN) — Senegal during 2024 underwent a mass upheaval and a groundbreaking national election, which brought to power the youngest elected head-of-state on the continent. The country won its freedom in 1960 during the so-called “Year of Africa” where 16 colonies became independent. Just three years […]
The New Syrian Government Faces Herculean Task
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 12 January 2025 (IDN) — Recognizing the horror the Syrian people have endured over the past 14 years, the question is, will Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa follow through on his public promises to transform Syria into a democracy where freedom and equality reign, regardless of how […]
The UN Can End the Middle East Conflict by Greeting Palestine as 194th Member
The June 2025 UN Conference on Palestine can be the long-awaited turning point for the region. By Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares* This article was published in Al Jazeera and is being republished with the authors‘ permission. NEW YORK | 11 January 2025 (IDN) — The UN, on its 80th birthday in 2025, can […]
Water Is a Key Factor in Syria’s Protracted Conflict
By Paolo Maggiolini* MILAN, Italy | 10 January 2025 (IDN) — Water security will be a key test of the new Syrian government’s credibility. Since 2011, water scarcity has been a central factor in the country’s prolonged conflict, manipulated for political and economic gain. In a region already vulnerable to climate change, prolonged drought and […]